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1978 Toyota Royal Hawaiian?


KenRocks

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Just found y'alls board and was hoping someone might give me a hand figuring something out...

I had a bike up for sale on craigslist and I got a response back from a guy wanting to trade me his camper for it. He says its a 1978 Royal Hawaiian made by Royal Holiday...I googled all of those terms together and separate and can't really seem to find anything relevant. Does this camper actually exist? Anyone have one? Anyone regret having one? For anyone interested, here's his description:

Well, the little camper is a 1978 Toyota Royal Hawaiian, built by Royal Holiday. She's 18ft long, which is great for a single person or a couple since it's the same size as a fullsize pickup. Super easy to drive. It has the venerable 20r 4-cylinder and a 4-speed stick. Odometer shows a little over 83,000 miles that I believe are original from the rig's condition. There are some of these 20r motors with over 250,000 miles and still running strong. She drives real good ounce it's warmed up. It's not fast, though. It cruises for me at about 45 mph, and can get up to about 60 on flat ground. At 45-50, I've been getting around 22-25 mpg. This is my first Toyota motorhome, so I thought this was normal, since it is just a 4-banger in a 6500# vehicle. However, I've been told by other Toyota MH owners that it should drive faster than this. Most suspect the carburator probably needs torn down and rebuilt. I'm not that good with carbs, and it's running fine for me, so I haven't worried about it. The only real complaint I have about the way it runs, and it leads me to believe there is a problem with the carb, is that it needs to sit and idle for a few minutes before you start driving. Otherwise, it stutters and doesn't want to take the throttle. Once she warms up a bit, it runs out just fine. Exterior of the cab is very nice condition. A few nicks and chips in the paint, and a couple shallow dents in the hood, where someone in the past has sat on it. Very little rust. Interior of the cab is also very nice. The seats are like new upholstry, and the dash is in very good shape. The only problem inside the cab is the carpet, which is loose and moves around under your feet. If I had the time, I would see if I could get the carpet installed properly, but it's never bothered me much. Exterior of the coach is in pretty good shape. There is a small hole located on the passenger rear of the coach toward the top that's been filled with silicone caulk. Otherwise, the coach body is in good shape. The top has been rubber coated and I've had it through some serious rains with no leaks at all. The entrance door is in the rear and the door itself could use being replaced. It's hinges are a bit loose and you have to lift the door a little to get it to close. It still closes fine, you just have to lift it a little. It had a dead-bolt that I always used to muke sure the door stayed shut, but it fell apart on me a couple weeks ago. As a result, there is no way to lock the back door now. That hasn't been a problem for me. Interior of the coach is usable, but it's old and worn pretty good. I was told the stove worked, but I've never tried it. It's a gas stove/oven. It had a gas furnace that's been replaced with a milk-house electric heater which has been wired into the thromostat on the wall, which is quite nice. The fridge has also been replaced at some point with a regular electric dorm style fridge. The fridge works good. The interior of the coach has been remodeled at some time, and whoever did it didn't do a very good job. It looks like they used scrap materials wherever they could. Many of the mouldings have cuts where there should not be. It also needs new curtains. I had plans to gut much of the interior and start over fresh but I need to get rid of it now.

Any ideas on it? What do yall figure it'd be worth? Advice?

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I have heard of them bottom line they are all pretty much alike. If you need a project that one sounds like just the ticket. If it does not have a 1 ton rear I'm not sure I would swap a WalMat Huffy for it.

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I have heard of them bottom line they are all pretty much alike. If you need a project that one sounds like just the ticket. If it does not have a 1 ton rear I'm not sure I would swap a WalMat Huffy for it.

So how would one tell about the rear end? VIN lookup? Anything else important to check for/ask about on a MH like this?

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Nope, just have a look the 1 ton has 6 bolts holding the wheels on and a large hub sticking out in the middle of the wheels. It most likely did not but it could have/should have been replaced. Very expensive replacement and a safety issue if it's an old 5 bolt rear. As far as the fridge and heater you are pretty well stuck plugging it in in order for them to work not much good in the woods but ok at a campground.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I bought this rig, it def needs some work, especially the interior, but i think a carb rebuild and some new tires and shes good to go on the road. Anybody have one? It's relatively small for a Toy, which I like. Anyone with original interior gear give me a holler! I need it. : )

I thought the rear axle issues were only for 85 and thereabouts, when the carriages were getting heavier. Yes?

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About the only things that were some what light enough were very short and fiberglass even they were doubtful as to being overloaded. I think yours is like 20' and they are heavy and need the full floating axle (6 bolt rear)they all needed to be replace with the 1 ton rear some did some didn't and after a certain point they were built with the one ton as standard.

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You said your Toy is only 18 ft long with a rear door. Maybe it is light enough to not need a 1 ton axel. Maybe take it to a scale and have it weighed.

Tudy

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I'm pretty sure it's 6500 lbs. How would that be for 5 lugs?

Anybody know about replacing the fridge so I an hook it back up to propane? They seem pretty pricey brand new.

I believe that calls for a HD axel with 6 lugs. I understood, from reading these posts, that 6,500 # was a normal weight for 21 ft Toys. Does any one else know?

I just put in a new Dometic fridge and it was pricey.Sigh.... I used a dorm fridge, til I was able to buy the new one. A good old one might be hard to find and then it would have to be in your size.

Sounds like you have a nice Toy to work on.

Tudy

84 Dolpin "Cricket"

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Gross vehicle weight rating. What that means is your fully loaded vehicle passengers, fuel, gear, food, water etc can not exceed 4600# the way it is presently setup.

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